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Ok guys here is a question for yoy Tig welders out there.
I've been doing a bit of practice on mine. A Lincoln Ideal Arc 250/250
Now the issue I'm having, I have all sorts of trouble holding the torch steady with one hand.
To the extent I start to cramp up only after a few minutes.
Now I regualarly weld at work with a 500 amp tweco torch, and it's heavy, yet it I have no issues using it one handed.
Below is an example, Replacing cutting edges on a 953 Cat
What type of gloves are you using?
if your using gauntlet gloves then try thinner TIG gloves,theyre allow alot more movement and its easier to bend your fingers/hand if you get what i mean.
DIRTY ROCK STAR wrote:
im going to google a borneo sucker fish.
sounds like the code name for dudelux when he cross dresses and smokes pencil.
It could be the smaller hand piece that has your hand cramping up. Some guys at work thicken up the grip area for the same reason.
Also do you use foot or hand control as hand with button/trigger in different position can just have your hand in an unfamiliar position.
Wherever possible use a rest of some kind.
I use 90 X 90 blocks of pine cut to different lengths for most of my bench work. I also use adjustable stands if I need them.
For our Sprintcar chassis work I use spring clamps around the tubes to rest my torch hand on. They are quick and easy and will rotate around the tube as I need it.
There's lots of little tricks but just get comfortable, if you're not comfortable you won't weld efficiently.
If your torch has a trigger or button for initiating the arc try different fingers and try holding the torch differently.
On my torch I use a lever type trigger which is loosely fixed to the body of the torch and this allows me to rotate the trigger in relation to the ceramic, very handy at times.
How supple is your torch lead? I had to replace my water cooled torch and lead and I needed it urgently and ended up one I'm not happy with. It's like wrestling with a black 8 metre long Anaconda, a real pain in the @rse. I work my way around it but I wish I'd paid the extra and got a better one.
Regards Andrew.
We are Tig welders, gravity doesn't worry us.
[img]http://www.studmonkeyracing.com/forums/smilies/weld.gif[/img]
